There’s been another delay in the W. Burdick St. reconstruction project.
Now, the 1,691-foot stretch of road between Ashley Way in the village and S. Waterstone Dr. in the township is scheduled to re-open on Thursday, July 31, according to Oxford Village Manager Joe Young.
‘This schedule is dependent on the weather,? he wrote in an e-mail.
This is the second delay.
Originally, the road was supposed to reopen to traffic on July 19. The target date was then changed to July 26.
Village engineer Rob Lavoie, president of the Pontiac-based Nowak & Fraus Engineers, explained the delays are due to a combination of factors including changes in the project’s scope.
Changes, all of which involve the township’s portion of the project, include additional drainage improvements along with more curb and gutter work.
Other factors include lost days due to rain and utility issues such as unexpected encounters with gas lines.
Construction workers discovered an 8-inch gas main and this required an investigation by Consumers Energy to determine if ‘it was live or abandoned,? according to Lavoie.
It was determined the main was no longer in use.
Construction workers also came across a 2-inch underground gas service line for a residence on Burdick.
Consumers Energy had no records on the location of this service line, so it was never marked prior to construction, according to Lavoie.
‘The contractor verified its location after waiting two days for Consumers Energy to locate it,? he wrote.
The W. Burdick St. project involves rebuilding the asphalt road from base to surface, making drainage improvements, lowering the hill by 2 feet and installing concrete curb and gutter.
The project’s total estimated cost is approximately $570,000, of which $467,152 is the village’s share. The rest is being paid by the township and Road Commission for Oakland County.
Oxford had applied for $500,000 in supplemental state funding for the project, but W. Burdick St. was turned down in favor of a proposal to do $600,000 worth of repairs to M-24 between Harriet St. and Davison Lake Rd.
That project is expected to happen sometime this fall.